zaterdag 27 oktober 2012

All Pictures All Mirrors Diane Arbus Street Photography


Diane Arbus (1923-1971) revolutionized the art she practiced. Her bold subject matter and photographic approach produced a body of work that is often shocking in its purity, in its steadfast celebration of things as they are. Her gift for rendering strange those things we consider most familiar, and for uncovering the familiar within the exotic, enlarges our understanding of ourselves.
Arbus found most of her subjects in New York City, a place that she explored as both a known geography and as a foreign land, photographing people she discovered during the 1950s and 1960s. She was committed to photography as a medium that tangles with the facts. Her contemporary anthropology-portraits of couples, children, carnival performers, nudists, middle-class families, transvestites, zealots, eccentrics, and celebrities-stands as an allegory of the human experience, an exploration of the relationship between appearance and identity, illusion and belief, theater and reality.
This exhibition of two hundred photographs affords an opportunity to explore the origins, scope, and aspirations of a wholly original force in photography. It includes all of the artist's iconic photographs as well as many that have never before been exhibited in the Netherlands. Even the earliest examples of her work demonstrate Arbus's distinctive sensibility through the expression on a face, someone's  posture,  the  character  of  the  light,  and  the  personal  implications  of  objects  in  a  room  or  landscape.  These  elements, animated by the singular relationship between the photographer and her subject, conspire to implicate the viewer with the force of a personal encounter.
Much has been written and said about Diane Arbus's work since her death in 1971-so much that it has sometimes made it difficult to see the work on its own terms. Foam is pleased to present, perhaps for the first time, a major retrospective of Arbus' uniquely powerful photographs in the true eloquence of their silence. The show will enable each viewer to encounter the images much as the photographer encountered her subjects: directly and unencumbered by preconceptions.
Visitors  to  the  exhibition  seeking  knowledge  about  Arbus's  life  and  working  methods  will  be  able  to  explore  three  additional separate galleries containing biographical material, books, personal notebooks, correspondence and other writings in which the artist articulates the goals, obstacles, and strategies that went into making the pictures.
This exhibition has been organized by Jeu de Paume, Paris, in collaboration with the Estate of Diane Arbus LLC, New York and with the participation of Fotomuseum Winterthur and Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin.

Diane Arbus


Diane Arbus – Foto: © Bas de Meijer
Natuurlijk ontbreken ze niet: de jongen met de speel goedgranaat, de reus met zijn ouders, de tweeling, kortom de ‘freaks’. Het kan niet anders. Maar er hangt ook zoveel meer op de tentoonstelling ‘Diane Arbus’ in Foam in Amsterdam. Het retrospectief telt tweehonderd foto’s, waarvan een aantal nog niet eerder in Nederland te zien zijn geweest, en geven een goed beeld van het werk dat Arbus in haar leven maakte. Marloes Krijnen, directeur van Foam, stak de trots over de tentoonstelling niet onder stoel of banken tijdens de persconferentie. Foam is een van de vier musea die betrokken zijn bij de overzichtstentoonstelling en is de laatste in de rij waar de foto’s te zien zijn.
De bezoeker van ‘Diane Arbus’ kan zich onderdompelen in een bijzondere wereld. Een wereld met bijzondere mensen die respectvol door Arbus op de foto zijn gezet. Bijzonder is ook dat een groot aantal van de getoonde foto’s door Arbus zelf nog zijn afgedrukt. De overige foto’s zijn gedrukt door Neil Selkirk, de enige die de negatieven van Diane Arbus mag afdrukken. Selkirk leerde Arbus kennen toen hij als assistent werkte in de studio van Richard Avedon en Hero. Na het overlijden van Arbus in 1971 bood hij de erfgenamen aan om te helpen als ze een boek of iets dergelijks wilde maken. “Ik was op het juiste moment op de juiste plek wat dat betreft,” verklaart hij. Afgezien van de familie was Selkirk de enige die echt alle negatieven van Arbus heeft gezien. Haar archief met negatieven was uitstekend georganiseerd, maar bij de afdrukken had ze niet vermeld van welk negatief het afkomstig was. Dus heeft Selkirk de 7000 films allemaal uit moeten zoeken. “Ik maakte de afdrukken voor de eerste tentoonstelling en het is nooit meer gestopt.”


Diane Arbus – Foto: © Bas de Meijer
Echt
Om de foto’s goed af te drukken, op de manier waarop Arbus ze ook afgedrukt zou hebben, heeft Selkirk nauwgezet de werkwijze van haar moeten bestuderen. In plaats van het traditionele doordrukken en tegenhouden, de fysieke manipulatie zoals Selkirk het noemt, maakte Arbus gebruik van de chemie om het contrast te beheersen. Door de techniek zijn de foto’s van Arbus heel geloofwaardig. “Je kunt het niet echt uitleggen als je de foto’s bekijkt op de expositie, maar je voelt het wel. De foto’s zijn geloofwaardig omdat niemand heeft geprobeerd de foto’s echt te laten lijken. Zeker tegenwoordig probeert men foto’s te verbeteren, ze echter te laten lijken. Maar Arbus probeerde nooit foto’s echter te maken. Daarom geloof je ze. Dat is het grote verschil met alle andere manieren van afdrukken.”
Zwart-wit
Alle foto’s op de expositie zijn zwart-wit, maar Arbus heeft wel degelijk ook in kleur gewerkt. Maar alleen als de klant het per se wilde en meestal waren het modefoto’s. Naast het vrije werk maakte Arbus ook veel werk voor bladen. Veelal initieerde ze zelf de opdrachten. Arbus bedacht zelf wat ze wilde fotograferen en regelde daar opdrachten voor. De scheidslijn tussen vrij werk en opdracht was vaak dun. Op de tentoonstelling hangen beiden dan ook door elkaar.
Studiecentrum
Alleen in het studiecentrum wordt echt duidelijk wat Arbus in opdracht heeft gemaakt. Dat studiecentrum vormt een belangrijk deel van de tentoonstelling. Wie echt meer wil weten kan nog uren doorbrengen in dat studiecentrum. Daar vind je uiteraard veel boeken, maar ook notities, brieven en andere biografisch materiaal. Het is wel raadzaam om vooral eerst de foto’s te bekijken. Alles bij elkaar levert ‘Diane Arbus’ een uitermate interessant overzicht over het leven van een bijzondere fotograaf.
In Pf nummer 9, dat begin november 2012 verschijnt, besteden we meer aandacht aan Diane Arbus.


woensdag 24 oktober 2012

MYSTERIOUS CHINA presented by the Java -China- Japan- Line Art Deco Illustrations Friedrich Schiff Ellen Thorbecke Photography


MYSTERIOUS CHINA. Presented By the Java -China- Japan- Line.

Thorbecke, Ellen


Small Quarto. Unpaginated but 52pp. Art Deco Style Production. Original Pictorial Covers with Drawings by Schiff. Illustrated with Photo Plates by Ellen Thorbecke [ People in China etc.], and with Wonderful drawings by Schiff at his very best! Chapters include, Shanghai, Nanking, Peking et al. Text in Dutch and English. Map. Friedrich Schiff (1908-1968) was born in Austria and came to China in 1930 where he worked as caricaturist for several newspapers and illustrated books. 


Born in 1908 into an artistic family (his father was a painter, his mother an actress), Schiff studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.In 1930, at the invitation of his cousin, Schiff visited Shanghai and fell in love with the city and its people. He ended up living there for 14 years, until 1947 when he moved to Buenos Aires.
Schiff had worked as a newspaper cartoonist in Vienna and continued this line of work in Shanghai. Soon he became famous for his amusing caricatures of the city's inhabitants, from beggars and expats to sailors and sing-song girls.
In 1934, he began a fruitful collaboration with photojournalist Ellen Thorbecke (who was the wife of the Dutch ambassador to China). Like Schiff, Thorbecke was also a Sinophile. Together they created a series of illustrated travel books about China's major cities: Peking Studies (1934), Shanghai (1938), and Hong Kong (1938). 











dinsdag 23 oktober 2012

Highlights of Dutch Photography

Wally Elenbaas, Zelfportret (1938).


Dirk de Herder, Amstelbrug, Amsterdam (1946).

Steef Zoetmulder, Joyce van der V. (1950).


Ellen Thorbecke, Sing-song meisjes in opleiding, China (1931-1934).


Paul Julien, Danseres te Zoadiba, Kameroen (1937).


Gerrit Kiljan, Pillen (1930).


Werner Mantz, Viaduct, Keulen (1927-1929).


Wim K. Steffen, Fietser met tegenwind (1963).

zondag 21 oktober 2012

From the Magic Box a photo anthology by Erwin Olaf Photography

From the Magic Box a photo anthology by Erwin Olaf ...

Asger Carlsen Wrong 'Untitled'


David LaChapelle The Lonely Doll

Robert Mapplethorpe Parrot Tulips

Pierre Molinier Autoportrait avec eperon d'amour


Terry Richardson Sisley campagne

Gregory Crewdson Hover series Untitled

Guy Bourdin Charles Jourdan spring 1979

Man Ray Noire et Blanche


Joel-Peter Witkin The Kiss

Pierre & Gilles Le Petit Jardinier

zondag 14 oktober 2012

the Leporello Photobook as a Phenomenon Touch Peter Dekens Photography


touch druk from Peter Dekens on Vimeo.

Touch
Photographer Peter Dekens’s series of photographs Touch is displayed at the StadsGalerij BredaPhoto. It tells the story of the 23 year-old Stijn: a man born blind, living in a small apartment in the city. The furniture inside his apartment aren’t obstacles. On the contrary, they lead his way. Peter Dekens portrayed Stijn inside his apartment and during the winter months. Because Stijn does not need light, the lights were consequently left unlit during the evening hours. This rendered Dekens’ work more difficult. In order to reach an utmost factual result, he did not use artificial lighting. His images are a careful reflection of reality. See for reviews ...

Touch is a beautiful photobook. It is designed in a form of accordion which also helps to tell the story. Powerful work, excellent picture editing, interesting design, gorgeous book, and it smells fantastic!

I’m always wondering why the accordion/laparello format is so rarely used for photobooks. What at first might seem an awkward way to organize photography - one long, folded strip of images - after all has its advantages ...


touch from Peter Dekens on Vimeo.


Spreads and covers of more then 15 booklets with pages that move along a zigzag course are selected for this category. They range from author photographer's booklets to perforated post cards with souvenirs, such as monuments and people on Capri and urban landscapes from Moscow. Professional photographers DÖRTE EISSFELDT, BART SORGEDRAGER and JORGE MOLDER made striking narratives in the zigzag format ...

To See the World: Willem Ruys Dendermonde, Max And Blazer, Carel, Photos
Wormerveer [Holland]: Meijer"s Industriele Uitgeverij (ca, 1959-60) First edition. Photo-pictorial paper-covered boards accordian fold. Maps by F.W. Michels A fine copy. 60 pp. (incl. endpapers). 12mo. (unfld: 375 x 18 cm). Illus. with 15 color & 24 b/w photos, 1 color drawing, and 2 color maps (Panama and Suez canals). In English. An around the world trip on the Willem Ruys. Also produced in Dutch. 

Portraits of Ingrid Bergman ANDY WARHOL 

Sweden, Galerie Borjeson. 1983, First Edition. Accordion Folio, TEXT IN ENGLISH AND SWEDISH. Stunning catalog that unfolds to show 48 brightly colored 48 silkscreen portraits of the actress Ingrid Bergman. The portraits done in typical Warhol style features 3 different portraits of Bergman, 1 from Casablanca, 1 of her as a nun from The Bells Of St. Mary, and a studio portrait from the 40's. All are bright and colorful and are printed on heavy glossy stock that pulls out in accordion fashion. There is also one b&w photo portrait of Warhol on the frontispiece by Christopher Makos along with several Warholian quotes. 


Sanne Sannes 1937 - 1967 Faces of Love, Photographs door R Draaijer
Andere auteurs: G Fiolet Olympus Cameras Photogallery

Panorama van Amsterdam. SWART, SIEBE. Veen, Anneke van. 
NETHERLANDS Amsterdam, 1996. 8 pp. Large leporello (photograph by Siebe Swart). Soft cover. 

Panorama van RotterdamSiebe Swart 
NETHERLANDS Large 4to, leporello met b/w photographs by Swart, and 7 p. text by Adriaan Monshouwer,  De Verbeelding, Amsterdam 1997  

Cold War, CIVIL Defense in the Netherlands 1949-1989 SORGEDRAGER, BART / BOOM , VAN DER, BART
Delft, Legermuseum Delft, 1997. First edition. Leporello. 175 x 140 x 9. Special book by Bart Sorgedrager in leporello format. (with PICTURE)  

InterpolisSALM, FRANK VAN DER 
Tilburg, Interpolis, 2006 orig photo-pictorial boards issued as a leporello in orig slipcase 22 pp 30 x 43,5 cm with blue sheet as issued with text in Dutch edition of 500 copies signed mint very important Dutch corporate photobook  

From Sample Sheet to Family Album The Stork Photo CollectionThijsen, Mirelle 
[publisher: Veenman] 2006.99 Seit., sw Abb., 17cm, gebunden.404 gr. ISBN 9086900356 . . Leoporello

What We Wear By Pieter van den Boogert
Publisher: Keff & Dessing Publishing




dinsdag 9 oktober 2012

Everyone recognized her Talent Esther Kroon Photography


Discovering a Young Photographer, and Her Tragic Tale


Self-portrait, 1991.Esther Kroon/Nederlands FotomuseumSelf-portrait, 1991.
One of the many discoveries to be made at last weekend’s N.Y. Art Book Fair was a new book of photographs by a Dutch photographer named Esther Kroon, who was killed in 1992.
Kroon was 25 when she was murdered by robbers in Antigua, Guatemala, while she was visiting a photographer she admired. She had been in the country for only a few days. After Kroon’s death, the publisher Willem van Zoetendaal and the Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra, who had been one of Kroon’s teachers and later hired her as an assistant, put out a book of Kroon’s pictures of Dutch and Spanish children. The newer book, simply titled “Esther Kroon,” includes some images from the earlier book as well as previously unpublished children’s portraits and a selection of self-portraits Kroon made with a friend in New York shortly before her death.
Van Zoetendaal points out that the low perspective from which Kroon shot many of her children’s portraits shows the influence of Dijkstra. “You can see that there’s a connection with the style of Rineke, that she has a very low point of view,” van Zoetendaal says. “Her camera is very low but even lower than Rineke’s. The children become huge, like giants.” He theorizes that one of the reasons she liked this vantage point was that it put her young subjects at ease. “The kids think it’s funny and start to play with her and spontaneous things are happening. The way she interacted with the children is very pure and honest.”
Nonetheless, Dijkstra says, “her pictures of children have a great intensity.” They are, Dijkstra adds, “far from sweet and not sentimental.”
The publication of the book coincides with a current exhibition of Kroon’s photographs at FOAM Fotomuseum in Amsterdam that runs through Oct. 14.